FAA misses first unmanned Aviation deadline.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: Homeland Security News

Only five days after the acting administrator confidently affirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration would meet its goals for integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into national airspace, the agency let a congressionally mandated deadline slip.

The Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 required the FAA to establish a pilot program to integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system at six test ranges. The law required the sites to be established "not later than 180 days" after the passage of the FAA bill, or Aug. 12. No plan has been released as of early September.

"Rest assured that the FAA will fulfill its statutory obligations to integrate unmanned aircraft systems," Acting Administrator Michael Huerta said at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference Aug. 7 in Las Vegas.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The FAA must be able to accommodate unmanned aerial systems in the national airspace by 2015. The test sites are envisioned as places where remotely piloted aircraft can fly with few restrictions, and crucial data on the technologies that will allow them to travel among regular air traffic are gathered. One of the main issues is how unmanned aircraft will sense other aircraft and take corrective measures to avoid collisions--better known as sense-and-avoid systems.

"We expect to ask for proposals to manage these sites very soon," he said. When pressed to answer "how soon?" he declined to give a date.

When asked what happens if the two technical issues are not resolved to the FAA's satisfaction by the congressionally mandated deadline in 2005, Huerta declined to elaborate.

"I don't really want to speculate on hypotheticals that we won't get there because I am quite optimistic that we will," he said.

The lapse generated an Aug. 20 letter addressed to Huerta and Department of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, which was penned by AUVSI President and CEO Michael Toscano.

"Key to unlocking this potential and ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in...